


Blame SSSN!

by 3237835 (A_I)



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, F/M, Future, M/M, Might be OOC, Multi, Randomness, post volume 2, what is love?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-20
Updated: 2014-11-27
Packaged: 2018-02-26 07:52:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2644028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_I/pseuds/3237835
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blame SSSN. Really, it's their fault in a nutshell. </p><p>If RWBY hadn't ran into Sun, Blake wouldn't have bonded with him over the weekend. Yang wouldn't be questioning if her partner was into the monkey-tailed Faunus as more than just a friend. Sun wouldn't have introduced Neptune to the group. Neptune wouldn't have hit on Weiss. Sun wouldn't have asked Blake to the dance. Weiss wouldn't have asked Neptune to the dance. Ruby wouldn't have had to watch Weiss come to the dance alone. Jaune wouldn't have talked Neptune into giving Weiss a second chance. Sun and Blake wouldn't always be together. Neptune and Weiss wouldn't always be together. </p><p>Damn SSSN.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. N-Neptune!

**Author's Note:**

> So, before you go into this thinking that X and X or X and Y are going to be together, let me tell you this beforehand: I have not decided on concrete pairings yet. Although I am a fan of certain pairings, I'm not so dead set on them that I will be excluding other ships. So, yes, expect all the ups and downs that come with real life relationships until I settle on a pairing. Think of it as RWBY exploring their options and falling in and out of love, trying to figure what exactly it means to 'fall in love' with someone.
> 
> Anyway... asides from ships, let's get to plot. I, quite honestly, have no idea how long I want this to be. It started off as a writing exercise to help me stay in character when writing my own, original work, but it wound up longer than expected and turning out not that bad. So I figured I'd share. I don't even know if there is going to be any real plot--but it's not going to be all love and fluff. They're Hunters and Huntresses, they'll have to fight Grimm. There's still the White Fang. Cinder's still got something planned. Maybe even Ironwood, Ozpin, and Qrow too. And Raven. Damn Raven! Oh, and the Vytal Festival, can't forget that.
> 
> As for content, expect cursing, some violence and suggestive word play/scenes may pop up, but nothing explicit. I doubt I will ever do anything explicit—it's not really my kind of thing—but if I do, I'll put a note at the beginning. Most of this should be in 3rd person (I need more practice with it), but I might throw in some chapters in 1st person now and again. 
> 
> Updates... ... ... Not sure, but since I'm using it as practice, should be fairly often. I hope so at any rate.

There was a knock on the door and before long Ruby had opened the door. “Neptune?” she asked, surprised to see him there. “What are you doing here?” she questioned, her silver eyes warily looking over him. He wasn't dressed any differently than normal, and he certainly didn't seem to be up to trouble, but Ruby still found it annoying that he was there. She couldn't quite tell why though. There was just something about Neptune that made her just a smidgeon uneasy whenever he was around—which was fairly often now.

Behind her, Blake peered at the door from the cover of one of her many books. From her vantage point, she easily saw that it was indeed the blue haired young man at the door. She briefly wondered why Ruby seemed so surprised at seeing him. Neptune _had_ been showing up to their room periodically ever since the dance. Granted, it was usually during the weekends, but still, it shouldn't be too surprising to see the suave young man at their door. No doubt that he was there to see Weiss. Uninterested, Blake returned to her book, flicking her eyes towards Yang every so often.

Meanwhile, Yang leaned back her desk to see if it really was Neptune who had shown up. She grinned as she caught sight of the cool, blue boy. She could still remember the way he had been acting when he was on the back of Bumblebee. Poor kid. He had been _highly_ against riding Bumblebee, insisting that he'd find his own way there, but when she pointed out he didn't know where he was going and that it'd be faster if they went together he finally agreed. The ride had been unpleasant, but Yang made the most of it. His first few minutes had been nothing more than him screaming like a little girl. But he must've gotten used to it, because the screams slowly died out. It wasn't until she hit a red light that she realized why. At the light he immediately took the chance to empty his lunch in the middle of the streets—Yang was, for once, glad that she had a helmet on. At least no one would recognize her face and associate her with Neptune. She had insisted that he hold onto her, lean into her when she did and what not, but he didn't listen and as a result of that, the ride had been slightly worse for him because of it.

She wanted to waste more time, but she could feel Blake's eyes on her. Swallowing, Yang turned to the side, but caught Ruby's disappointed frown. Mentally groaning, she returned to her homework. Normally, Yang wouldn’t be doing her homework… but Checkmate had insisted she get back to doing her schoolwork and as team leader, Ruby had no choice but to agree and take their side. Outnumbered and abandoned by her own sister, Yang had grudgingly agreed to catch up on all of her schoolwork so far; she didn’t see much a reason for it since she was still passing all of her classes. Who needed to do homework, right?

“N-Neptune!” squeaked out Weiss, backing out of her chair, the legs making a horrible screeching sound that Blake cringed at, a half glare aimed at Weiss for a split second before going back to her novel. “I thought you weren’t coming until later.” Quickly, she straightened up her work area, careful not to spill the open bottle of ink. She may have come off as prim and proper, but deep down she was more of an organized mess. People merely assumed she kept everything neat and tidy because her notes were so clean and in order. She was still trying to maintain her image, but her roommates had picked up on her messiness long ago. They hadn't said a thing to her about it yet though, not even Yang. And for that she was grateful. She only hoped that it'd stay like that. But that didn't mean Neptune needed to know she was secretly messy at heart.

Neptune leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, and nodded. “Sup,” he greeted them. Not really meaning to, he wound up ignoring Ruby and answering Weiss. “Yeah, that was the original plan, but Scarlet and Sage are having Sun catch up on his school work, so I figured I’d drop by early,” he explained, not aware that Yang was in a very similar situation. 

“Scarlet and Sage…?” asked Yang, enjoying the opportunity to take a break from studying. She was going to take each and every single chance she could to avoid doing her homework. She was sure that if she turned around, Blake would be staring her down, but that didn't matter right now. With Neptune here, none of her teammates would make a fuss over her procrastination.

“Neptune’s teammates,” answered Weiss and Blake at the same time.

“Ooohhh…” mumbled Yang, attempting to keep on procrastinating, but one glance at Blake told her it’d be wise of her to stop stalling and get back to work. She tried to pretend that she hadn't caught Blake's eyes, but she heard Blake turn a page in her book with a hard _flick_. Although Blake didn't talk much, Yang had come to understand her mood through a variety of alternative means. It required her to pay more attention than she was used to, but it certainly paid off. A mad Blake was not a fun Blake. “ _Fine_ ,” grumbled Yang, turning around and staring at the books and papers in front of her once more. “But it’s not like I actually need to study, ya know?” she sighed. Leave it to Blake to be the one to keep her on task without needing to verbally announce it.

“I heard that,” muttered Blake, just loud enough for Yang to hear her. With another sigh, Yang silently started to go over her teammates’ notes. No one saw the faint whisper of a smile tugging at the corners of Blake's mouth, only the sullen black ink on the pages of _Black Sun Rising_ could see it and they would never tell the world.

“That’s not a problem… is it…?” asked Neptune, not sure if he was ruining something, standing up straighter and anxiously running a hand through his hair. “Did I interrupt a study session?” he continued as he took a glance inside of their room. He couldn’t see Yang, but based on what he had heard so far, she was likely at the desk next to the door. Blake was reading, nothing new, but he wasn’t sure if it was for school or just for fun. Knowing Blake, it was probably a combination of both. Weiss was at her own desk, a stack of papers and several open books clearly visible.

Ruby opened her mouth to respond, but Weiss beat her to it. “No, not at all. It’s fine.” Ruby pouted and crossed her arms. He had most certainly interrupted their study session. What was Weiss talking about?!

After all, it _had_ been Weiss who insisted that they study at least two hours a day, every day, if they were on campus since the school year started. It was a schedule all the girls hated, and one rarely enforced. Those two hours had steadily turned into "Quiet Time For Weiss and Blake" as the semester progressed, but there were days when Weiss wouldn't have it and made a big deal about them needing to actually study, usually a week before a test and a week after. Weiss knew they'd cram for tests, but she wanted to make sure they would at least be able to pass whether they wound up cramming or not. She still expected them all to make at least B's though. And that was why they'd have another intense study session a week later. Weiss wanted to make sure they knew why they had scored so poorly and that it wouldn't happen again. In the event they all passed with flying colors, which was often, she still wanted them to go over the material. Something about making sure the information was as result of understanding rather than cramming. And so Weiss would threa— _promise_ —to destroy Ruby's cookie stash (and any new ones she got) until she sat down and thoroughly studied for a good two hours. In dire situations she'd somehow manage to steal Crescent Rose and only give it back to her after she studied. She'd annoy Blake to no end until the older girl finally agreed she'd make Yang study too. Ruby still wasn't sure how Blake could convince her sister to sit down and look at textbooks and do homework for two hours, but she was the only one out of the group who was mildly successful when it came to getting Yang to study.

She was about to say something again, but Weiss had gathered up her things and walked over to Neptune’s side. “I was just doing some research on Haven.”

“Well, maybe I can help with that,” offered Neptune with a smile as Ruby just went off to her desk and fell into her chair with a small sigh. “I _am_ from Haven.”

“That’s what I was thinking! I-If you’re okay with it, I mean, I wouldn’t want to trouble you,” amended Weiss.

“No trouble at all,” reassured Neptune, offering to take some of her things. “Anywhere you’d like to go in particular? I know this spot with a view if you don’t.” Weiss and Neptune quickly left, their voices fading away as they went down the hall and down a flight of stairs.


	2. Zweeiii

An hour later and she found herself wishing that someone would notice the open door and shut it. At some point Ruby had climbed up into her bed and pulled on her headphones. Ruby was still scribbling away in her notebook and with her headphones in, Blake doubted she’d be able to get the younger girl’s attention. Her golden eyes drifted up and over to Yang. No. She couldn’t, not when Yang had finally gotten just a little serious about studying—even if all Yang had to do was lean over and push the door hard enough to close it. Another loud burst of laughter down the hall made her eyes glare at the open door with distaste. She really didn’t want to get up. Her bed was now quite comfortable and warm. That and Zwei was awake from his little afternoon nap now, quietly patrolling the girls’ room. She had finally gotten used to having him around, but that didn’t mean she liked him.

“Want me to get that?” asked Yang as she stood up, stretching. Before Blake could even respond, she had already taken what few steps were needed and closed the door. The raucous laughter quickly died out, barely audible to even Blake’s sensitive ears. Yawning, Yang stretched some more. Blake suspected she was just procrastinating, but she had to hand it to her, she’d been studying—really studying—for a whole hour now. She supposed that if anything, Yang deserved a break.

She returned her book, nearly halfway through it now. “Ruby, something wrong?” called out Yang. Blake paused momentarily to look up at Ruby, trying to get a good look at her face. She could still hear the hooded girl scribbling away like she had been for the past hour or so, but couldn’t make out her face at all. “Ruuuubyyyyy!” continued Yang, trying to get her attention. Frowning, Yang looked to Blake for help. Blake merely pointed at her ears. “Oh,” mumbled Yang before going back to her desk and grabbing one of her textbooks.

“Yang…” started Blake.

“What?” asked Yang. When Blake continued to stare at her she set the book down. “Do you have a better idea?” Blake’s pillow promptly collided into her face. “Riiight.” Pillow locked and loaded, Yang took aim and then fired. “Score!” rejoiced Yang as Ruby was hit square in the face.

“YAAAANG!” complained Ruby, pulling out her headphones and glowering at her older sister. “What was that for?!”

“You doing okay?”

“Yes,” came Ruby’s startling lackluster reply, causing the two partners to exchange worried glances. Ruby was well aware of their brief exchange. “Really. I’m fine,” she reassured them. “I'm just tired. I hate studying just as much as you do.” 

“Are you sure about that?” pressed Yang, crossing her arms. She knew her baby sister better than anyone else. Ruby was lying.

“You don’t sound okay…” murmured Blake softly from behind her book that she was pretending to still be reading.

“Arf!” piped up Zwei, as if agreeing with them, pausing in his patrol and looking up towards Ruby, tongue out and panting as quietly as he could. Blake froze for a split second, looking down at him and then edging towards the other side of her bed, closer to where her desk was. Zwei swiveled his head around at her, but quickly focused his attention on Ruby with another soft bark. The three of them waited in silence, but Ruby stubbornly refused to say anything more on the matter, slipping her headphones back on. She must have turned up the volume because Blake’s ears could faintly pick up music coming from her direction. With a whine, Zwei paced around in a circle between their beds before lying down.

“…Is he… going to be okay?” asked Blake as Yang sat down at the foot of her bed. She carefully leaned over to look at Zwei only to nearly jump back as he let out another whine. She might not like their pet dog very much, but he had slowly wormed his way into her heart, if only a little. The dog looked and sounded hurt. When she looked at Yang, she found her looking at her with amusement. Yang grinned, signaling that she wanted to crack a joke, but wouldn’t for her sake this _one_ time. Sighing, Blake just accepted it without complaint. She knew if she said anything it would just give Yang reason to tease her. “Do you know what’s bothering her?”

Yang shook her head before lying down, throwing her arms up to hang over the other side of the bed. “Nope. No idea. But I’m going to find out.” Pulling her arms and hands in to cradle the back of her head, Yang turned to meet Blake’s gaze. “You have any ideas? You’re usually more observant than I am.”

“What makes you say that?” asked Blake, even though she would have to agree with her. “She’s been… a lot quieter lately, especially when Weiss is around. Think they got into a fight again?” rattled off Blake anyway. Even though they had put Torchwick behind bars, something seemed to be troubling Ruby. At first she had assumed that it had to do with the fact that although the rat of a criminal was locked up, they didn't any more answers than when they started. Honestly, she was still on high alert and very wary of what could happen. The White Fang were still a problem, even if they weren't working with Torchwick anymore. BUT, she had learned. Stressing and obsessing over it wouldn't do anyone any good except for the enemy. She was working on it, but in a safer and healthier manner than before.

“Ahh, you noticed that too, huh?” murmured Yang softly, closing her eyes. She returned to her book while Yang took a few minutes to just relax. “… What’re you reading?”

“Weren’t you going to find out what’s wrong with Ruby?” As she turned the page, she caught sight of Yang rolling over onto her side, now only resting on her right arm with her left arm draped across her abdomen. “…It’s complicated.” Yang kept a steady gaze on her. “Good and evil team up together to do good.”

“Is that why you’re reading it?”

“… No…” answered Blake slowly, hoping Yang would drop it, but it seemed that Yang was in a prying mood. “… … … One of the characters, Tarrant1, did, does, a lot of evil things, but I don’t think he’s actually evil himself. Despite all the bad things he does, he still lives by a code and is actually looking for redemption,” explained Blake.

Yang nodded, waiting to see if she’d go on. When she didn’t, she sat up, legs crossed, hands atop either knee. “Well, it’s like you said. No one’s born evil, and…I think if people took the time to listen and talk things out, then anything can be forgiven.”

Blake’s eyes shifted uncomfortably. “Even if there was blood on their hands? Innocent blood?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She knew that Yang had read into her words and managed to fill in the blanks. As hot headed as her partner was, she was amazingly good at reading people, especially when it came to their emotional states, and was pretty accurate at that. “Can sins ever be forgiven?”2

For a minute Yang didn’t say anything, making Blake fidget and try to read again. But she couldn't. She wanted to know what Yang thought of her. Her heart pounded and she couldn't look Yang in the eyes. What if they couldn't forgive her? If they couldn't forgive her, who could? And then she felt one of Yang’s hands take hold of her own hand while the other gently pulled the book away. “Well... it's like this guy in a movie once said. You won't know until you try.2 Everyone deserves a second chance, you included.” She gently squeezed her hand once before letting go. “I mean it, Blake,” she finished, handing back her book.

Blake let it sink in, a warmth bubbling inside of her she didn't think was possible. She reached out for it, but when she tugged on it, Yang wouldn’t let go. Brows furrowed, she tugged harder. Yang still wouldn’t let go. “Give me back my scroll and you can get your book back,” grinned Yang ruefully. Confounded woman. She should've seen this coming. She had caught Yang looking at her scroll instead of her books earlier and confiscated it, meaning to find out what Yang had been doing instead, but the woman had stubbornly refused to put in her pass-code. Sighing, Blake pulled out Yang’s scroll. “Thank you…. …. ….” Yang trailed off as Blake didn't let go of her scroll. “Blake. My scroll?” she demanded, locking eyes with the Faunus.

“Give me back my book first.”

“… … … Scroll first.”

“Book first.”

“… … … No.”

“Then you’re never seeing this again.” She watched as Yang frowned, her own brows furrowing, contemplating on how serious she was with her threat. “I mean it,” added Blake. “I have my ways.”

“Zweeiii,” cooed Yang.

“You wouldn’t!” But Yang merely ignored her and held out the book towards Zwei. “Yang!” Zwei paced over to the side of the bed and sniffed her book. “Okay, fine!” relented Blake, quickly tossing the scroll into Yang’s lap, golden eyes locked on the precious package of papers and ink mere inches away from Zwei’s drooling mouth. “Yang…” pleaded Blake. “Please…”

Grinning, Yang pocketed her scroll before pulling Blake’s book back into safety. “You know I’d never deface any of your books,” reassured Yang, still not returning the book to her partner. 

“Then give it back already!”

“Nu-uh.”

Sighing, Blake leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms. “What do you want?” There was only one reason why Yang was doing this and that was because she had something Yang wanted. The only problem was that she didn’t have the faintest idea of what it was that the blonde beauty wanted.

Yang’s more than delighted and smug grin only made her heart skip a beat and sink. Whatever it was that Yang wanted, it was not going to be something she’d like. “This weekend. You, me, Bumblebee, and Vale.”

It took her a moment to process it all. _She wants me to go hang out with her…?_ “Why?” asked Blake, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

“Can’t you just relax, have fun, and enjoy yourself a little bit just once?” asked Yang with a weary sigh, still keeping an iron grip on her novel.

“Ugh… what do you have in mind?” she asked, buying time to see if she could catch Yang off guard and steal her book back—or if getting her book back was worth it.

“Nothing much. Shopping. Maybe a movie. Dinner. Clubbing,” rattled off Yang. “Not all of it in one night of course—unless you wanted to—but that’s pretty much it,” she explained, tossing her head back lightly, her yellow-gold hair rustling. “Well?” asked Yang with a smirk.

 _Curses…_ Yang was keeping an eye on her. There was no way she was going to be able to steal her book back without having to fight Yang for it, and she doubted she’d be able to win or come out with her book still intact if she did win. “…Do I have to dress up?” A nod. “… … …” Sighing, Blake finally gave in. She had lost, badly, and she knew it. “Fine. Now, my book?” It was an autographed copy and _not_ worth losing. 

“Thank you for your cooperation, love.” Blake merely rolled her eyes while holding her hand out. In a few seconds she felt the hefty book being placed into her hands. “Here ya are. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to pry into my baby sister’s life now.” She watched as Yang got up and went to Ruby's bed. The blonde didn't know it, but she had managed to make her partner smile. Blake was relieved to know that Yang didn't think any less of her or treated her any differently even after she had revealed that she'd taken the lives of innocents. Granted it had never been directly, but it was still her fault nonetheless. Maybe some day she'd tell Ruby and Weiss too, but for now, as long as Yang was willing to overlook it, it was enough for her. Maybe she had found her Damien.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1Hmm. Seems I forgot to mention it last chapter, but yes! Tarrant is a character from [The Coldfire Trilogy written by CS Friedman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coldfire_Trilogy). If you noticed it in the previous chapter (because I mentioned _Black Sun Rising_ ) and suspected I was referencing the Coldfire Trilogy, you were right to assume so! (And yes, I chose to use _Black Sun Rising_ because of the whole Blake/Sun thing. Isn't _Black Sun_ one of their shipping names?)
> 
> The Coldfire Trilogy is awesome! You should check it out if you get the opportunity to. (It's a fairly long read though.) I loved reading it, but it's been a couple of years, so I might not remember everything perfectly. Please don't chew me out if you think I was completely and utterly wrong about how I portrayed Tarrant and hinted what Damien was like. For those who have no idea about what the series is about, basically Tarrant is an antihero. Damien is the hero. Good guy Damien winds up having to partner up with bad guy Tarrant to defeat an even greater evil in the process of accomplishing their own, separate agendas that would have been difficult or nearly impossible to do without each other's help. I'd say more... but then it would kind of ruin the story if you do decide to read it.
> 
> 2 YES, this is a reference to Final Fantasy, specifically, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Basically, Cloud asked if sins could be forgiven and Vincent replied that he wouldn't know since he had never tried. >_>" Whaaat? This conversation has always stuck out to me. I can't help it if I remembered it and couldn't resist using it.
> 
> * * *
> 
> This chapter was in 3rd person limited, mostly geared towards Blake's point of view. I'm sort of experimenting with 3rd person omnipresent and 3rd person limited. But don't worry, points of view will only change in a chapter by chapter basis, so it shouldn't get too confusing. 
> 
> :/ So how'd I do? Does this chapter seem... Blakey?


	3. Hey wait... is this like a date-date or a date?

Ruby had been drawing weapon designs. She had been studying, honestly, she had, but somewhere along the way she had wound up doodling, and then the doodles had turned into full scale drawings. At the moment she was working on a piece similar to Crescent Rose. She had started out with a rough outline of the scythe, adding in details as she worked, and then scribbling notes down to the side as she envisioned what the weapon would be capable of, and now she was beginning to add splashes of color and shading. People often said her designs were outrageous and insane—in a good way—but she never understood why. There were so many other cooler and more powerful weapon designs out there. She knew because she had seen them—between her Uncle Qrow and father she had seen plenty of intricate and beautiful designs. Her sketches were nothing compared to those.

Just as she finished up and was in the process of naming the weapon, Yang grabbed her headphones, pulling them off. The action had caused her to pencil to glide across the paper, an ugly black streak marring her work. Looking up, she glowered at Yang. “Heh, heh… sorrrry!” apologized Yang. She tried to salvage her sketch, hoping that maybe with a little erasing and retouching, it’d be good as new… but there was still a vivid line cutting through the scythe. Groaning in frustration, she tried erasing some more, but any harder and she’d just burn a hole into the paper.

Seeing as she couldn’t save it, she might as well incorporate it into the design. In her happy place once more, she was brought out of it when Yang called out her name. She ignored it the first time, hoping that her sister would leave her alone. But she should’ve known better. Yang wasn’t one to back down. “Whaaaat?” she groaned, carefully setting aside her half fixed sketch and pencil.

“What’s bothering you?” asked Yang, getting straight to the point.

“What makes you think something’s bothering me?” scoffed Ruby, all her usual vibrant energy back in her voice—save for the little hitch at the end that was barely noticeable and probably would have been overlooked by anyone _expect_ for her sister.

Yang raised an eye at her, causing Ruby to stare back at her. “Ruby, you know I can tell that you’re lying, right?” Ruby’s stare wilted ever so slightly, but she was determined to not let Yang win this time around—even if it was probably futile. She knew her older sister better than anyone else, but even so, she had to try. As uncomfortable as things got or as much as she doubted herself, she always wound up trying. There were times where she half wondered if she had picked it up from Yang or if it was just something the Rose-Xiao Long family had in common.

Their staring contest continued. At some point Ruby thought she heard Blake mentioning that she was going to go to the library, but she wasn’t sure. She didn’t dare take her silver-gray eyes off of Yang’s lilac ones. Later she heard their door closing; Blake must have gone to the library after all. Zwei was whining down below, but as much as she loved the dog, she would _not_ lose. If she won, Yang would leave her alone.

“Guuh…” groaned Ruby as she was forced to look away in defeat at long last. Yang’s gaze had been intense, more so than normal. There was no way she was going to win. She had known that about thirty seconds into the contest, but she’d been stubborn and refused to admit defeat. “Fiiine, you win! But that doesn’t mean I’m going to tell you.”

“Aw, come on Ruby, I’m your big sister. You can tell me anything!” But Ruby remained indignant. “Ruuuubyyyyy,” continued Yang. “Come on, what’s bothering you this time? Did you and Weiss get in a fight again?” Ruby merely rolled her eyes. Sure, she and Weiss were partners and usually didn’t see eye to eye despite actually having some things in common, but they didn’t actually _fight_. Well, not _all_ the time at any rate. In fact, Ruby was pretty sure they hadn’t had a spat in weeks now. “Then what’s going on? Lately you haven’t been yourself. I thought Weiss would’ve said something by now since she usually notices all of our mood swings and brings it to our attention, but she hasn’t, so I will. What gives?” demanded Yang.

With a small sigh, Ruby got down from her bed and went to sit in her desk chair. Yang followed suit, grabbing Weiss’ chair and crossing her arms atop the back of the chair. “Promise you won’t laugh?” Yang blinked once, twice, and then nodded. “… I think Weiss doesn’t like me…”

“Uh… Ruby… Weiss doesn’t like anybody,” half joked Yang in a vain attempt to cheer her sister up. 

Ruby became frustrated for a moment, unsure of how to properly explain herself. She had never been good with words and despite being team leader for well over a semester and a half now, she still wasn’t very good with expressing herself. “I mean, like…” she trailed off, flailing.

Yang came to her rescue though. “Okay. How about you tell me _why_ you think Weiss doesn’t like you then?”

She could do that, yeah. That was easy. “Well… she hasn’t been spending any time with us lately. She’s always going out with Neptune. She hardly even eats dinner with us anymore! And we _all_ agreed that if anything, we’d always eat dinner together while we’re at Beacon!”

“Oh, I see,” murmured Yang to herself.

“You do?”

“Yeah. You like Weiss,” grinned Yang.

Ruby just stared at her sister in disbelief. “Of course I like Weiss, what kind of statement is that? Thank you Captain Obvious!”

Yang merely shook her head. “I mean you _like_ Weiss,” she repeated, emphasizing on the word ‘like’ as if that explained it all. Ruby’s dumbfounded stare made her bring a hand to her forehead. “Ruby… you have a crush on Weiss,” groaned out Yang.

“What?!” screeched out Ruby. “Why would you think that?!” She watched as her sister raised an eye at her. “Wai—” Too late.

“Well, for one thing you tend to let Weiss sleep in for a few extra minutes—“

“That doesn’t mean anything .She’s cranky in the mornings…”

“—and you’ll finish up her notes for her sometimes—”

“It doesn’t mean anything though! I’m just being nice. Weiss really cares about her notes and we usually have a mission or something the day after. I’m just trying to be a good team leader!”

“—in her handwriting!” finished up Yang.

“Again. That doesn’t mean anything! I have a lot to make up for and I’m just being a good friend,” protested Ruby. Honestly, how could her sister think that she had a _crush_ on Weiss?! Weiss was… cold, but surprisingly caring deep down. She just wanted the older girl to open up to her a little more. She was sure that beneath it all Weiss could be… could be… could be what exactly? Inwardly, she cursed Yang. Now that she mentioned it, she wasn’t sure what exactly she wanted to be with Weiss. Friends, yes, but there was something more to it that she couldn’t quite figure out.

Best friends? … … … Yeah, that had to be it. She wasn’t like Yang. She didn’t swing both ways and she was pretty sure she didn’t like Weiss as anything more than a friend-who’d-become-her- best-friend-forever. But if there was anything her sister was insanely good at, it was reading the people closest to her. Still. She _had_ to be wrong though.

Sighing, Yang just looked Ruby over and let another very long, dramatic sigh. “Ruby…”

“Whaaaat?” asked Ruby, well aware that her sister was about to go into a sort of lecture just based off of the tone of her voice.

“I get that you and Weiss have some issues to work through and that you want to be friends—best friends—but that doesn’t mean you have to take notes for her in her handwriting. That’s not something most people do. Most people will just finish up the notes for them and that’s that. No one goes through the trouble of imitating their friend’s handwriting.”

“Well, I’m not like most people then! Weiss is picky. She might be a slob at heart, but she still takes really good, _neat_ notes. She’d get mad at me if I messed up the way her notes looked!” explained Ruby. “Besides, that’s just _one_ weird thing. That doesn’t mean I like Weiss as anything more than a friend.”

“Okay. Fine. But Weiss doesn’t know you’ve been finishing her notes for her. Blake mentions it from time to time. She hears Weiss talking to herself, swearing she didn’t remember finishing her notes at all and that she must’ve been pretty tired to have forgotten. Why haven’t you told her you’ve been finishing her notes for her if you’re just trying to be a good friend then?”

“That’s because Weiss would get mad at me for her finishing her notes for her! She says she’s not perfect, but she does try to be perfect and acts like it when she can… so if I told her then she’d probably see it as me thinking she’s not good enough or something. Weiss doesn’t like asking for help or admitting that she needs help… so I’m just going to keep helping her in whatever way I can. I’m sure a part of her knows that I’m helping her too!”

“There are other things too,” muttered Yang softly as Ruby went on about how the notes couldn’t possibly correlate to her liking Weiss as anything more than a friend.

Crossing her arms, Ruby paused mid rant. “Like what?”

“I’ve noticed a lot of things, lil sis. A _lot_ of things.” Ruby continued to stare at her, waiting for an answer. “You really wanna go through this?” Ruby nodded. “Alright then, your death wish,” grinned Yang ruefully. “I’ve also noticed you tend to watch Weiss sleep. I even have pictures of you in the dead of night, leaning out from your bed and looking down at the ice princess as she sleeps. You watch her for a few minutes and then you finally go back to bed. Care to explain that one?”

“Guh… it’s just because she’s tossing and turning in bed… so I can’t sleep. I only wake up to look at her to make sure she’s okay. You know how bad nightmares can get…” mumbled Ruby. “Hey wait a minute! What are _you_ doing up in the middle of the night watching me make sure Weiss is okay?!”

“Oh, the first couple of times I couldn’t sleep; then I realized what you were doing so I made a habit out of waking up periodically to see if you’d be at it again,” explained Yang, not skipping a beat.

Ruby glowered at her. To any other person they would’ve though simply thought Yang was telling the truth, but the fact that Yang had so calmly answered her made her suspect her sister was hiding something. Yang only answered questions like that whenever she had thought about a problem beforehand and carefully came up with a solution or excuse. She remembered days when she had walked in on Yang practicing in front of a mirror. Back then they had simply been reasons or excuses as to why she was out so late—typically out partying or just hanging out with some friends, but she’d always come up with a tale to tell their father. It was probably why she had loved Yang’s bedtime stories so much as a kid. Yang really knew how to spin a story.

“Lies!” hissed Ruby. Yang balked at her. “You, Yang Xiao Long, are lying!” started Ruby once more, jabbing a finger at her. “What were you really doing?!”

“Heeey! Don’t try to turn this around! You’re clearly upset over something and—“

“And you’re lying about why you’re up in the middle of the night!”

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

At this point, Zwei took it upon himself to run around the two girls, barking every so often, but the sisters were fixated on each other and barely noticed the energetic dog. Eventually, he came to a standstill, sitting in the empty space between the two girls and swiveling his head from side to side as each girl spoke up.

“Okay, fine! I’ll tell you later,” surrendered Yang. “Anymore of this and Zwei might lose his head.” Ruby worriedly glanced at Zwei and then nodded. “BUT, _we’re_ not done yet.” Ruby groaned. “Let’s say you’re right. You don’t care about Weiss as anything more than a friend.” Ruby slowly nodded. “Then why are you so upset that she’s spending time with Neptune?”

“I already told you! She’s hardly—”

“It’s really only the weekends during the afternoon and dinner every couple of days. It’s not _that_ much time,” interjected Yang. “What gives? I mean I go out _way_ more than all of you and you’ve never said anything to me about it.”

“Well that’s you. It’s normal,” grumbled Ruby, indignantly crossing her arms. “Weiss is different. You know she doesn’t have that many friends here at Beacon.”

“Which is exactly why I’m so surprised that you seem to be so against her hanging out with Neptune,” pointed out Yang.

Ruby’s quick response was lost to the wind. Yang did have a point. It wasn’t like she was Weiss’ _only_ friend. Weiss was allowed to make other friends if she wanted to. And it wasn’t like Weiss had just shut them out either. She still had classes with them. Combat training. Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner occasionally. She still tutored her in a few subjects here and there as needed and requested. She still schemed with her and Yang to get Blake to be a little more outgoing—or at least go out and have fun every other weekend or so. 

The more Ruby thought about it, the weirder it was that she felt so uncomfortable with Weiss’ new friendship with Neptune. Maybe Yang was right. Maybe she did have a crush, or something, on Weiss. She had always thought that she was into guys, but maybe she was into girls? Or both? Truth be told, the little red streak had never really dated or crushed on anything that was actually organic before. 

Then again, she had never really had friends like Weiss or Blake either. Sure, there was the gang back at Signal… but it was really just a bunch of acquaintances who were all mostly weapon fanatics too. She had met them through one of the school’s clubs and with her Uncle Qrow’s prodding, she had wound up joining the club. Before Beacon, they were the closet thing she had to friends. But after spending a semester with her room-teammates, she had realized that as much as she loved hanging out with the gang and how easy it was to talk to them, she didn’t actually know anything about them other than what kind of weapons they liked. It was a very shallow relationship.

Maybe that was why she cared so much about Weiss hanging out with Neptune—slight as it may be considering the reality of just how much time Weiss spent with the team. “I think… I think I’m afraid I’m going to mess up,” sighed Ruby sullenly. “I mean… Weiss is the first real friend I have.”

“What about Jaune?” Ruby rolled her eyes. Yang always brought up Jaune whenever she talked to her about friends. “Isn’t he your friend too?”

“Okay, fine. Weiss is my first real girl friend and Jaune is my first real guy friend.”

“Aww, you said Weiss is your girlfriend! I know you like her Ruby, but you ou—gwwwuahhh!” Vexed, Yang glared at her for a second before breaking out into laughter. “I’m sorrrrrry!” apologized Yang, trying her best not to start laughing again or cracking a joke. “Weiss’ll be your Weiss one day!”

“YAAAANG!” cried out Ruby. Over the years she had gotten used to her sisters more than lame jokes that she could at least smile at, if not laugh about it wholeheartedly, but this was not the time for it.

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop!” offered Yang, rubbing her arm slightly as Ruby threatened to punch her sister in the arm again. Ruby wasn’t much of a fist fighter, but having grown up with Yang had taught her how to throw a punch if she really needed to. It probably would never be anything like Yang’s own punches… but it’d hurt a little bit at least. “So you’re afraid that Weiss’ll hate you forever or something?”

“Yeah…” nodded Ruby.

Grinning, Yang reached out and ruffled Ruby’s hair, causing the younger girl to grumble in complaint, quickly smoothing out her hair. “Don’t worry. If Weiss hates you I’ll beat her up.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” muttered Ruby softly. “You can’t hurt Weiss just because she doesn’t want to be friends with me!”

“Fiiiine. Take all the fun out of it, will you? I’ll just… punch her once.”

“Yang!”

“I’ll slap her?”

“Yang…”

“FINE. I won’t do anything asides from give her a very strong lecture.”

“Good.”

“BUT, I don’t think Weiss will hate you. She already puts up with you enough as it is. I think… she might just be interested in Neptune.”

“Interested?” echoed Ruby.

Rolling her eyes, Yang explained. “Weiss might be dating Neptune. She _did_ ask him to the dance, right?”

“Yeah, but Neptune turned her down. So he doesn’t like her the same way.” Ruby caught her sister staring at her. “What?”

“Well clearly something changed since the dance. The two of them look like they’re dating—that doesn’t meant Weiss hates you though! You didn’t do anything wrong. Look, maybe Neptune is going to be, or already is, Weiss’ boyfriend. You’re still her friend. Heck, I think you’re the closest thing Weiss has to a best friend too. If you feel like you want to spend more time with Weiss then just ask her to go out with you.”

“Yang. I’m not—“

“I meant as friends. Go grab lunch in Vale. Go shopping. Something that you’ll _both_ enjoy,” reprimanded Yang as gently as she could.

“Okay… but I don’t know how to be… _normal_. You know—“

Sighing, Yang held her head with both hands. “Okay, how about this. I’m taking Blake out this weekend—I’ll explain how later—so why don’t you see if Weiss wants to join in. Just the four of us. Friday we’ll go into Vale, we’ll spend lunch however we want, meet up to watch a movie. Grab dinner. Then head back home. Unless you two want to stick around for some of the night action,” offered Yang.

“Okay!” beamed Ruby. “Hey wait… is this like a date-date or a date?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long. :/ I found it difficult to write Ruby. Haha, I'm still not satisfied with how this chapter turned out, but it more or less covered what I wanted to happen and after about the fifth or sixth rewrite, I think I'm just going to call it a day, er, week. In my opinion, I think Ruby seems a little out of character, maybe Yang too... (Also, I will apologize now, I am not a funny person and not very good with puns, sooo yeaah... but I'll try!) But that's what this is for. Practice to stay in character! 
> 
> As an afterthought, I think the reason I found it so hard to write as Ruby is because she's more or less the exact opposite of my personality. I'm more of a Monochrome/Checkmate mix than anything, lol. I guess Blake mostly. I'm pretty quiet and usually reading (or lately it's more like writing/drawing). -sighs- And I tend to run away from things... but I didn't runaway from this exercise! Yay! Despite how annoying and frustrating it became when every revision I had didn't seem the least bit like Ruby at all. . . . . . but enough of that. I could rant about that forever.
> 
> Also, I'm sorry if there are a lot of grammatical errors. I haven't exactly proofread this chapter... mostly just gone through it for HTML formatting. It's been a long week. :/


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